Method of manufacturing toothpicks

ABSTRACT

A toothpick of essentially triangular cross-section and tapered at both ends, one or both of the apex edge and base face thereof having an outwardly curved contour. A process for manufacturing said toothpicks involving forming V-shaped grooves of the requisite shape in a raw material and separating the toothpicks therefrom.

United States Patent 91 Barman 1 Feb. 13, 1973 [54] METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TOOTHPICKS [76] Inventor: Rolf Barman, Olav Kyrresgk 45,

Bergen, Norway [22] Filed: Sept. 25, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 75,479

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 736,316, June 12, 1968, Pat. No.

[52] U.S. Cl. ..l44/326 R [51] Int. Cl. ..B27l 9/00 [58] Field of Search ..l44/326 R, 37, 39, 40, 41

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Parker...; ..144/41 38,768 6/1863 Sturtevant ..144/185 833,382 10/1906 Greif ...144/41 X 787,203 4/ 1 905 Mayhew 144/42 1,608,907 1 H1926 Nickerson ..144/41 896,209 8/1908 Hutchinson ..144/41 Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee Assistant Examiner-James F. Coan Attorney-Kenyon & Kenyon Reilly Carr & Chapin [57] ABSTRACT A toothpick of essentially triangular cross-section and tapered at both ends, one or both of the apex edge and base face thereof having an outwardly curved contour. A process for manufacturing said toothpicks involving forming V-shaped grooves of the requisite shape in a raw material and separating the toothpicks therefrom.

17 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB 13 ms 3.716.086

SHEET 10F 2 METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TOOTHPICKS This is a division of application Ser No. 736,316, filed June l2, I968.

This invention relates to toothpicks.

A conventional type of toothpick made of wood and having a substantially triangular cross-section is marketed in strip form with toothpicks arranged parallel to the sides of one another as a connected unit, so that they can be broken off therefrom singly as required. The individual toothpicks are wedge-shaped and are manufactured in the form of a correspondingly wedgeshaped board, a flat end surface of the latter and a flat bottom side both being partly broken through by V-shaped grooves, extending in a straight line, which are formed in the upper side in a suitable manner.

In practice it has been found that such known toothpicks are not fully satisfactory in all respects. For example, there are difficulties in achieving great efficiency both for large and small spaces between teeth, that isv to say in the intermediate spaces between back teeth and in the intermediate spaces between front teeth of one and the same user and besides for the differences associated with the various users. In order to obtain an effective cleaning of the teeth and gums'and massage of the gums of different users, only a compromise solution has hitherto been available, which resulted in a toothpick lacking the requisite strength and stability.

Accordingly the present invention provides a toothpick of essentiallytriangular cross-section and tapered at both ends, one or bothof the apex edge and base thereof having an outwardly curved contour.

Preferably, the toothpick tapers more abruptly at one end than the other and the two sides thereof connecting the base face with apex edge are of outwardly concave form.

Also according to the invention a toothpick board comprises a plurality of toothpicks as described in the last two preceding paragraphs, said toothpicks being arranged in parallel side-by-side relationship and interconnected at positions approximately centrally of their lengths. 1

Toothpicks according to the invention also include those made by dividing a toothpick, as described in the afore-mentioned preceding paragraphs, at its center and transversely of its longitudinal axis.

It will be readily appreciated that the toothpicks can be made from a'variety of materials, including plastics, although wood has proved to be especially convenient.

The invention also includes a method of manufacturing toothpicks of essentially triangular cross-section and tapered at both ends which comprises the steps of a. forming spaced, parallel vV -shap ed grooves of uniform depth in a raw material by means of relative movement between a first .cutting means and said material; and v I b. separatingthe toothpicks from the raw material by applying, at the bottom of the grooves, a second cutting means, said toothpicks being formed, in step (a), with apex edges of outwardly curved .contour and, in step (b), with base faces which are substantially flat, or vice-ver- When fabricating a toothpick board, the grooves are cut to a minimum depth at positions substantially at the center of the eventual toothpicks in step (a) and, in step (b), the toothpicks are separated from the raw material by cutting just inside said positions so that they are only interconnected at said positions.

It is thus possible to produce toothpick boards or toothpicks by relatively few working operations, namely by means of two simple cutting operations. Toothpicks which are tapered at both ends are twice as advantageous as compared with conventional toothpicks which are only tapered at one end. Moreover, by utilizing a curved apex or upper edge and/or base or bottom face, the toothpicks can be readily constructed to suit individual requirements. In order that one and the same toothpick can be employed to good advantage for small and large intermediate tooth spaces, it will be appreciated that toothpicks having one end abruptly tapered while the other is tapered more thinly, are especially useful.

In order that the invention can be more readily understood, convenient embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a first cutting step in a process of manufacturing toothpicks in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation similar to FIG. 1 showing the raw material prior to the beginning of the second cutting step,

FIG. 3 is a side view of a toothpick constructed in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 4 is section on the line IV IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a plan of the toothpick of FIGS. 3 and 4,

FIG. 6vis a longitudinal section'through a toothpick board showing the interconnecting portion between parallel toothpicks in section, and

FIG. 7 is -a schematic representation in perspective showing toothpicks manufactured in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 1, thereis shown a first cutting step as applied to a wood stock or raw material 10 in the manufacture'of toothpicks 11 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The wood stock 10 is moved with a particular curved motion past a cutting tool 12 having teeth 13 which forms substantially V-shaped grooves therein. The wood stock is moved from left to right in a compound movement which is illustrated by the straight arrows l4 and 15. The wood stock thus moves in a first movement tangentially relative to the cutting tool as illustrated by the-arrow 14 and, at the same time, in another direction radially towards and away from the cutting tool as illustrated by the double arrow 15. On rotating the cutting tool executes, in a relative movement along the one side face of the wood stock a bentor curved line longitudinally of the toothpicks to be produced. During this relative movement there is produced in the wood stock a series of spaced apart, parallel V-shaped' the necessary movements. In FIGS. 1 and 2, only a somewhat schematic manufacture is illustrated. For instance, control means and supporting means for the wood stock are not shown since there are available many different arrangements for the control and support of such relatively moveable parts.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the curved or bent contour of the toothpicks is brought about exclusively by means of the said cutting operation. An essential advantage resides in the fact that the toothpicks can be finally produced in a subsequent working operation by carrying out a simple separating or dividing operation in a suitable manner at a suitable level along the bottom side of the toothpicks. In FIG. 2, there is shown such a plane or flat dividing cut which can be produced by means of a band saw, band knife or the like (not shown). The dividing cut is illustrated by the dotted line 18 and is situated such that there are formed suitably taped toothpick ends at each end of each toothpick, and at the same time,the cut is located such that the toothpicks are separated from one another during the said separating or dividing operation. It is evident, that the dividing cut is arranged at the bottom" of the grooves 17 or more precisely just outside the bottom of the grooves at that position where the top edge of the toothpicks projects furthest outward from the wood stock.

In FIG. 2, there is indicated 'a toothpick II with substantially uniformly tapered ends. In the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 there is shown a toothpick produced in a manner corresponding to that shown schematically in FIG. I and 2 but having a somewhat differing form. Initially, it must be pointed out that the toothpick is produced with an abruptly bent end Ila as shown at the right in FIG. 3 and with a thinner outwardly extending and 1112 which is shown at the left in FIG. 3, while there is a thinner curved transition He at the topedge of the toothpick. Correspondingly, it is evident from FIG. 5 that the end Ila is more abruptly tapered than the end 11b, so that I there is obtained a relatively strongabruptly tapered end Ila at the. one end of the toothpick and a thinner tapered, butsomewhat more yielding, end Ilb at the opposite end .of the toothpick. The two different toothpick ends can be utilized for different purposes; for example, the one for large intermediate tooth spaces and the other for small intermediate tooth spaces.

In FIG. 4, side faces Ila and lle of the toothpick are shown extending together towards the top edge 11f of the toothpick in an outwardly concave manner. The toothpick can thus adapt itself according to the shape oftthe teeth just at the gum. The toothpick 11 has a plane bottom side lI'g.

In FIG. 6, there is illustrated a toothpick 21 having substantially the same shape as the toothpick in FIGS. 35 except that individual toothpicks, following the dividing operation from the wood stock, hangtogether with one another in a zone 22 roughly at their respective centers and in the form of a toothpick board from which the individual toothpicks can be broken off as required. The toothpicks 21 are formed with an abruptly curved and tapered end 210 and a thinner curved and tapered end 21b and with a plane bottom or base side 21a with outwardly concave side faces. In the construction according to FIG. 6, the dividing cut is located somewhat within the dividing plane 18 shown in FIG. 2 so that there is provided a connecting zone 22 of material between the parallel toothpicks arranged in side-by-side relationship.

In FIG. 7, there is shown an alternative form of manufacture in which an elongated toothpick material 30 is led in a straight line movement as illustrated by the arrow 31, past a cutting tool 32 with a series of teeth 33. The cutting tool is moved towards and away from the toothpick raw material 30 as shown by the arrows 34, at the same time as it rotates as shown by the arrow 35. As illustrated at 36, 37 and 38, there are formed by means of the cutting tool successive rows of toothpick raw materials in a manner substantially correspondingto that described for a single row in connection with FIG. 1. A suitable distance after the cutting tool 32, a band knife 39 executes the said dividing operation corresponding to that whichis illustrated in FIG. 2. The direction of movementof the band knife is shown by the arrow 40. At 41 it is shown, how the individual toothpicks fall downwards after the separating or dividing operation.

With the arrangement which is shown in the embodiment according to FIG. 7, it is also possible to produce toothpicks in board form, when t the dividing cut is placed suitably far into the wood stock. It is also possible to produce several such toothpick boards in succession as a combined unit in strip form. An advantage of such a mode of production is that a larger number of toothpick units can be handled in a simple manner in a subsequent working operation; for example, when submerging in an impregnation bath or the like for aftertreatment of the toothpicks.

Even if it is not shown in the illustrated emboditoothpick can be formed in addition to orin place ofthe bent or curved contour for the V-shaped grooves on the open or upper side of the toothpick.

What I claim is:

I. A process of manufacturing toothpicks comprising the steps of forming a plurality of spaced paraIlel V-shapedgrooves of uniform depth and longitudinally cur'ved contour in a raw material to form a plurality of triangularly shaped projections having a Iongitudinally curved apex on the raw material; and

cutting the raw material longitudinally of said projections in a plane disposed at the bottom of said grooves to separate said projections from the raw material to form a plurality of individually separated toothpicks from said projections, each toothpick having a triangular shape and being tapered at opposite ends.

2. A process for manufacturing toothpicks of essentially triangular cross-section which comprises dividing toothpicks made by the process according to claim 1, substantially at their centers and transversely of their longitudinal axes.

3. A process of manufacturing toothpicks comprising the steps of forming a plurality of spaced parallel V-shaped grooves of uniform depth and longitudinally curved contour in a raw material to form a plurali ty of triangularly shaped projections having a longitudinally curved apex on the raw material said forming step including the moving of a side face of the raw material substantially tangentially relative to a rotary cutter and simultaneously moving said face and said cutter towards and away from each other; and

cutting the raw material longitudinally of said projections to separate said projections from the raw material to form a plurality of toothpicks from said projection, each toothpick having a triangular shape and being tapered at opposite ends.

4. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the cutting is carried out in a plane disposed below the bottom of said grooves whereby the toothpicks are separated in the form ofa toothpick board.

5. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said projection is curved outwardly of the raw material.

7. A process as set forth in claim l wherein thev cutting is carried out in aflat plane to form toothpicks with a flat base.

8. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein said cutter is movable towards and away from said face.

9. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the toothpicks are tapered more abruptly at one end than the other.

10. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the opposite side walls of each projection are curved in a concave manner.

11. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the raw material is wood.

12. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein a plurality of longitudinally aligned toothpick boards are cut from the raw material in strip form.

13. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the cutting is carried out in a flat plane to form toothpicks with a flat base. I

14. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the toothpicks are-tapered more abruptly at one end than the other.

15. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the opposite side walls of each projection are curved in a concave manner.

16. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the raw material is wood.

17. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein a plurality of longitudinally aligned toothpick boards are cut from the raw material in'strip form. 

1. A process of manufacturing toothpicks comprising the steps of forming a plurality of spaced parallel V-shaped grooves of uniform depth and longitudinally curved contour in a raw material to form a plurality of triangularly shaped projections having a longitudinally curved apex on the raw material; and cutting the raw material longitudinally of said projections in a plane disposed at the bottom of said grooves to separate said projections from the raw material to form a plurality of individually separated toothpicks from said projections, each toothpick having a triangular shape and being tapered at opposite ends.
 1. A process of manufacturing toothpicks comprising the steps of forming a plurality of spaced parallel V-shaped grooves of uniform depth and longitudinally curved contour in a raw material to form a plurality of triangularly shaped projections having a longitudinally curved apex on the raw material; and cutting the raw material longitudinally of said projections in a plane disposed at the bottom of said grooves to separate said projections from the raw material to form a plurality of individually separated toothpicks from said projections, each toothpick having a triangular shape and being tapered at opposite ends.
 2. A process for manufacturing toothpicks of essentially triangular cross-section which comprises dividing toothpicks made by the process according to claim 1, substantially at their centers and transversely of their longitudinal axes.
 3. A process of manufacturing toothpicks comprising the steps of forming a plurality of spaced parallel V-shaped grooves of uniform depth and longitudinally curved contour in a raw material to form a plurality of triangularly shaped projections having a longitudinally curved apex on the raw material said forming step including the moving of a side face of the raw material substantially tangentially relative to a rotary cutter and simultaneously moving said face and said cutter towards and away from each other; and cutting the raw material longitudinally of said projections to separate said projections from the raw material to form a plurality of toothpicks from said projection, each toothpick having a triangular shape and being tapered at opposite ends.
 4. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the cutting is carried out in a plane disposed below the bottom of said grooves whereby the toothpicks are separated in the form of a toothpick board.
 5. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said projection is curved outwardly of the raw material.
 6. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the cutting is carried out in a plane disposed at the bottom of said grooves whereby the toothpicks are individually separated.
 7. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cutting is carried out in a flat plane to form toothpicks with a flat base.
 8. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein said cutter is movable towards and away from said face.
 9. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the toothpicks are tapered more abruptly at one end than the other.
 10. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the opposite side walls of each projection are curved in a concave manner.
 11. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein the raw material is wood.
 12. A process as set forth in claim 1 wherein a plurality of longitudinally aligned toothpick boards are cut from the raw material in strip form.
 13. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the cutting is carried out in a flat plane to form toothpicks with a flat base.
 14. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the toothpicks are tapered more abruptly at one end than the other.
 15. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the opposite side walls of each projection are curved in a concave manner.
 16. A process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the raw material is wood. 